Vibe vs Bundle of Joy vs Mazda5

[hjwii]

I bought a Vibe 13 months ago. Somehow, in that time, the stork visited and left me a bundle of joy. Now, we are a family of six. And while the Vibe is fairly room for it's size, not for six. You;re saying, get a mini van you snapperhead. Well, not so simple. First off, somewhat financially challenged, and I still owe 4 years on the Vibe. Second, I really need something that gets 3o or so MPG because I have a 150 mile commute (cant give up the job... family and all); thusly almost 50K on the car already.Soooooooooo... I see this Mazda5 the other day... seats 6.. gets about 30mpg. Spiffy looking as well. Riddle me this: is it irresponsible to consider trading in the Vibe for this Mazda? Will I get anthing close to what it's worth w/ all those miles on it? Are Mazdas any good? Or do I just strap the teenager to the roofrack of the Vibe?Thanks for your input...hjwii

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[merckx56]

I really dig the Mazda5! I might have considered it if I had the extra $5000 to spend when I bought the Vibe...

[ToolGuy]

I say search and get a used minivan with a four cylinder. It will be underpowered but get better mileage for your commute and still haul your tribe around when needed. Otherwise, looks like you maybe stuck with a car for the mileage but not the complete tribe hauling capacity.

[joatmon]

with the employee discounts going on new vibes, and the 50K miles in a year, and the 4 years still to pay on the loan, you would probably not get an adequate amount of money on your vibe as a trade in. Maybe incorrect, but I assume that there is a Mrs. Hjwii, and that you are a one car family (since you have a new child and you don't offer the option of trading in the other vehicle)If it was me, I'd probably keep the Vibe for the commute, and look for a low priced six passenger vehicle for those times when the entire crew needs to go somewhere, would also provide transportation for the Mrs in case something comes up and she needs to get somewhere while you are 75 miles away at work.

[sloth]

Guess you'll need to auction some kids off on ebay. Just kidding of course.With 4 years left on the loan your pretty much stuck with the vibe, as you won't get near what you owe out of it.I think your best bet would be to get another car. Find a cheap used car. Since you have a teenager, you'll probably have a full time driver for it in no time.

[ToolGuy]

More six speed auto transmissions are also coming so if you can hold on another couple years, more vehicles will be coming with these trans and fuel mileage will be going up on larger auto 6-speed passenger carrying vehicles. You can also explore Diesel powered vehicles as well...

[hjwii]

Yeah.. I suspected as much. We do have a second car, a VW Golf TDI with 250K on it that my wife drives now, but she hates to drive. I was just wondering if I could fake my way with only one car payment, albeit inflated a bit due to trading in a car that I havent paid for yet. Oh well, looks like the teenager on the roof is the way to go. I'll have to get some goggles for him...Unless someone wants to give me, say, $15K or $20K... I mean, the car's in good shape... looks new... has leather... I'll even leave my Sirius radio in it for you.... What? No takers? Awww...c'mon... what's 50K miles? that means it still has a good 100K miles left... and, really, who's gonna drive that much?Thanks for the input...hjwii

[tnpartsguy]

How old is the Teen? Maybe (s)he can drive the Golf?

[tecton]

id find an old awd astro vanyou cant kill those things

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by hjwii »Yeah.. We do have a second car, a VW Golf TDI with 250K on it that my wife drives now, but she hates to drive. If I had a VW golf and my spouse had the Vibe every day, I'd hate to drive too Sounds like you've got some tough choices to make. From some of the threads about the bad Vibe accidents, it seems like these cars do a good job protecting the people inside, but they are not designed to protect six people.

[rAERRK]

How often will you actually be taking the entire family in the car at the same time?